Senior Seminar
CM4900.70 CRN: 30929
CM4900.F70 CRN: 30927
These are online sections only
Spring 2014
Plymouth State University
Communication and Media Studies
Instructor: Annette M. Holba
Office: Hyde 129A
Phone: 535-2856
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 9:30-10:30am
Wednesday 1:00-3:00pm & by appointment
Email: aholba@plymouth.edu
Text Book: Communicating Ethically by William Neher and Paul Sandin
(ISBN: 0-205-39363-2)
Meeting Time and Place: Online
Course Description
Provides students with the opportunity to reflect upon their major coursework in order to connect
theory and application in preparation for their entry into the workforce. Focuses on applying
ethical frameworks, including deontology and utilitarianism, to a variety of case studies related
to interpersonal, group and organizational communication and to personal and professional
consumption and production of media.
Course Objectives
By the completion of this course students will be able to:
1. Identify and articulate the importance, relevance and pervasiveness of ethics in human
communication in public, private, and mediated environments.
2. Describe and differentiate three to five communication and media ethics frameworks,
including deontology and utilitarianism.
3. Apply three to five communication and media ethics frameworks to contemporary
practices through a case study approach to real world situations in public, private, and
mediated contexts.
4. Develop and verbally articulate a personal view on basic ethical issues, including
untruthful communication, intentional ambiguity, the standard of rationality, ethical
responsibilities for listeners, etc., in public, private, and mediated environments.
5. Actively engage and verbally participate in group discussion related to issues of current
interest and controversy in communication and media ethics.
6. Identify, apply, and analyze appropriate communication and media ethics frameworks.
7. Engage in an active job search, using current best practices.
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Communication and Media Studies Portfolio:
The Communication and Media Studies department is beginning to institute a portfolio
requirement for all students in the department. Below you will find a description of that
requirement. Many of you (if you are in a catalog prior to AY2013-14) are not required to submit
a portfolio as one of your graduation requirements but you still may be interested in creating a
portfolio of your work to help you when you are searching for a job after graduation. The
portfolio that you create might be a resource to show potential employers to demonstrate what
you’ve learned in your four years at Plymouth State University.
A portfolio is a collection of your student activities and achievements over a period of time such
as the four years of college. The Communication and Media Studies portfolio displays your best
work and allows you to demonstrate the skills, knowledge and dispositions that you have
achieved during your time at Plymouth State University.
In particular, as a student in the Communication and Media Studies department at Plymouth
State University, you will use the portfolio to demonstrate that you have achieved each of the
twelve departmental learning outcomes. Our courses provide opportunities for you to create
artifacts that demonstrate your mastery of these learning outcomes. You will collect these
artifacts into a portfolio that will also include your self-reflection explaining what each artifact
demonstrates. You will begin your portfolio in CM2000 (Studies in Communication and Media)
and finalize and evaluate it in CM4900 (Senior Seminar). Your portfolio should contain at least
one artifact (assignment, paper, exam, project, etc.) per learning outcome along with a reflection
statement in which you explain the ways in which this particular artifact demonstrates that you
have met this particular learning outcome. That is, your portfolio will contain at least twelve
artifacts (one for each learning outcome) and twelve reflection statements.
Below is the departmental learning outcome that you will work on in this class, Senior Seminar.
All assignments in this course are designed to meet this particular learning outcome.
Departmental Learning Outcome Addressed by The Senior Seminar:
1. Recognize an ethical responsibility to other individuals, the community, the discipline, the
profession and society as a whole based on various perspectives and associated standards of
ethical communication in face-to-face and mediated environments.
The Personal Code of Ethics is designed to get you to think deeply and clearly about who you
are and what presuppositions guide your thoughts and behaviors. Once you identify these
presuppositions, you are then led to think about the ideal you in relation to others and the
environments in which you engage/exist. Finally, this assignment encourages you to recognize
your ethical responsibility to others based upon an understanding of varying ethical decisionmaking paradigms. You will be shaping your understanding and preferences for ethical decisionmaking in the face of the other.
The Communication and Media Ethics paper is designed to provoke you to apply your
understanding of your ethical responsibility toward the other in a specific circumstance. You will
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be asked to consider ethical positions of others and apply your understanding of the situation
based upon various perspectives involved in the particular case.
The Resumé Project is designed to apply your own ethical code of ethics as you consider how
you present yourself in the marketplace and think about how you will work with other in the
larger community of work and society.
Attendance
The penalty for missing class is that the student cannot receive participation points for that day.
There will be no exceptions to that rule. Missing class on the day that an assignment is due does
not excuse you from the assignment. If you do not post the assignment on Moodle BEFORE the
beginning of the class period, you will receive the appropriate late penalties. See above for the
rules that apply to missing an exam. Missing a substantial number of classes, whether excused or
not, may result in automatic failure of the course since you will be missing the most important
part of any seminar—the discussion!
ADA Statement
Plymouth State University is committed to providing students with documented disabilities equal
access to all university programs and facilities. If you think you have a disability requiring
accommodations, you should immediately contact the PASS Office in Lamson Library (5352270) to determine whether you are eligible for such accommodations. Academic
accommodations will only be considered for students who have registered with the PASS Office.
If you have a Letter of Accommodation for this course from the PASS Office, please provide the
instructor with that information privately so that you and the instructor can review those
accommodations.
Academic Integrity
 Please read the following statement of departmental policy very carefully: The work you
submit in this course must be your own. Whenever possible, it is preferred that students
paraphrase/explain key concepts in their own words and cite the original source material
appropriately. However, if you include four or more consecutive words directly from any
source, be certain to surround them with quotation marks, and to properly cite the source
and page number. Plagiarism, however unintentionally it may occur, is a serious violation
of academic integrity. A student who is found to have plagiarized on any assignment
should expect to receive a failing grade for the entire course. There are no exceptions to
this policy.
 From the Plymouth State University Academic Catalog: "Violation of academic integrity
includes any act which portrays a member of the academic community as having
acquired knowledge through legitimate study or research which, in fact, has been stolen.
Violation of academic integrity includes also any act which gains one member of the
academic community an unfair advantage over another. This includes any act hindering
the academic accomplishment of another." I will pursue violations of academic integrity
to the fullest extent possible. Any student who has questions about what constitutes such
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violations is encouraged to consult the Academic Catalog and/or discuss the issue with
me.
**These two sections (two different CRNs) of the Senior Seminar are set up exactly the same as
the in class sections of this course except for the discussion forum set-up which is adapted to
accommodate and mirror a classroom discussion. I will send you weekly video messages and I
am happy to “meet” with anyone individually via skype if you have questions.
Assignments and Evaluation
 Participation Responses (15pts per week for 10 weeks)
150pts
o This course will be run as an online seminar which means that it will focus on
discussion. The success of the course requires the full attention and participation
of everyone in the course so be sure to post weekly (both the sets of questions
below AND your response to those questions in a separate window as indicated in
Moodle for Participation Responses. So to be clear, you will post your 5 sets of
questions in the designated area in Moodle which are separate from your
Participation Responses. See Rubric in Moodle.
o See the rubric about participation on Moodle
 5 sets of questions about reading 10pts each
50pts
o You will develop 3 questions about the reading before class. These questions will
be posted on Moodle and you will bring them to class, ready to raise them at the
appropriate time during the discussion.
o These questions may be things about the reading that you do not understand.
Alternatively, they may raise issues that you find to be particularly important in
understanding the reading.
o Note that there are 6 opportunities to post questions about the reading but the
lowest grade on these questions will be dropped
o Your questions must be posted on Moodle by the due date in Moodle. No late
questions will be accepted.
 Midterm exam
100pts
o The midterm exam will cover chapters 1-5 of Communicating Ethically.
o A make-up exams will be provided ONLY under the following conditions:
 You notify me BEFORE the exam that you must miss the exam; AND
 You provide documentation indicating that missing the exam was
unavoidable; AND
 You take the make-up exam as soon as is reasonably possible.
 Communication and Media Ethics paper
100pts
o The details of this paper will be handed out in class.
o Late papers will be penalized at a rate of 10% per day (including non-class days).
 Your Résumé and the Job Search
75 pts
o There are three parts to this assignment (each part is worth 25 points, total for this
assignment is 75 points)
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Personal skills assessment due Tuesday April 1
Résumé/cover letter draft due Thursday April 3
Final résumé/cover letter due Tuesday April 29
 The résumé and cover letter needs to be targeted to a particular
company you think you want to work for (for real or
hypothetically). You will need to do some homework on the
company and assessment their business in general and their
particular needs in order to write a targeted cover letter and
appropriate résumé.
Personal code of ethics
250pts
o The development of a personal code of ethics will be a main focus of the
semester.
o The development of this code will be broken into steps, each of which will be
worth a portion of the total 250 points.
o Missing the deadline for any of the steps in the development of the personal code
of ethics will result in a 10% per day penalty (including non-class days).
o The details of the assignment will be handed out in class and posted in moodle.
Practice final exam
25pts
o The practice final exam will allow you to practice the skills required for the final
exam.
Final exam
100pts
o The final exam will allow you to demonstrate that you understand how to apply
your personal code of ethics to actual communicative situations.
o The exam will be posted online during final exam week. The deadline will be
indicated in the course schedule below.
o A make-up exam will be provided ONLY under the following conditions:
 You notify me BEFORE the exam that you must miss the exam; AND
 You provide documentation indicating that missing the exam was
unavoidable; AND
 You take the make-up exam as soon as is reasonably possible.
Grade Scale
Grades will be assigned according to the following scale:
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800-850 - A
765-799 - A731-764 - B+
715-730 - B
680-714 - B665-679 - C+
625-664 - C
595-624 - C570-594 - D+
540-569 - D
510-539 - Dbelow 510 - F
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Tentative Schedule (Reading assignments are in Communicating Ethically unless otherwise
indicated) This schedule is subject to change due to weather/school closings (loss of power) and
or the need to cover material longer than indicated in syllabus.
Week
Week 1
1/27-1/31
Week 2
2/4-2/7
Week 3
2/10-2/14
Week 4
2/17-2/21
Week 5
2/24-2/28
Topic for the Week
Introduction to the Senior Seminar
Video
-Assignments
-Discussion of Chapter 1
Assignment Due
Read Chapter 1
Read syllabus
Read Assignment Descriptions
Post Introductory Comments and Respond to two
others for total of 15pts (9pts for your response
and 3 pts each for responding to two other
students) for #1 Participation Response by
Saturday, February 1, 5:00pm.
Chapter 2: Character in Ethics
 Post 3 questions in the Discussion
-read chapter 2
Questions Forum online about the
-watch my video monologue on
readings by Wednesday, February 5,
chapter 2
5:00pm
 Do #2 Participation Response
(responding to two others questions in
the Participation Response Discussion
Forum) by Saturday, February 8,
5:00pm
Chapter 3: Duties in Ethics
 Post 3 questions in the Discussion
-read chapter 3
Questions Forum online about the
-watch my video monologue on
readings by Wednesday, February 12,
chapter 3
5:00pm
 Do #3 Participation Response
(responding to two others questions in
the Participation Response Discussion
Forum) by Saturday, February 15,
5:00pm
Chapter 4: Consequences in Ethics
 Post 3 questions in the Discussion
-read chapter 4
Questions Forum online about the
-watch my video monologue on
readings by Wednesday, February 19,
chapter 4
5:00pm
 Do #4 Participation Response
(responding to two others questions in
the Participation Response Discussion
Forum) by Saturday, February 22,
5:00pm
-See my video monologue synthesizing
 Post 3 questions in the Discussion
Character (Virtue Ethics), Duty Ethics
Questions Forum online about the
(Deontological Ethics), and
readings by Wednesday, February 25,
Consequentialism(s) (Consequentialist
5:00pm about any of my video
Ethics)
monologues
-See my video monologue on Part 1 of
 Do #5 Participation Response
PCoE and Freewriting – Part 1
(responding to two others questions in
the Participation Response Discussion
Forum) by Saturday, March 1, 5:00pm
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Week 6
3/3-3-7
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Chapter 5: Relationships and Ethics
-read chapter 5
-watch my video monologue on
chapter 5
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Week 7
3/10-3/14
Week 8
3/24-3/28
Week 9
3/31-4/4
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Work on your PCoE-Part 1
Due: PCoE – part 1 March 12, 5pm
Study for Midterm
Midterm Exam Due Saturday,
March 15, 5:00pm
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Post 3 questions in the Discussion
Questions Forum online about the
readings by Wednesday, March 4,
5:00pm
Do #6 Participation Response
(responding to two others questions in
the Participation Response Discussion
Forum) by Saturday, March 7, 5:00pm
First draft of personal code of ethics
part 1 is due March 12, 5pm
Midterm exam is due Saturday March
15, 5pm
SPRING BREAK NO CLASSES
-read moodle articles in Topic 3 block
 Post 3 questions in the Discussion
(Dialogic Learning Theory Article and
Questions Forum online about the
Arnett’s biopolitical essay)
readings by Wednesday, March 26,
-watch my video monologue on the
5:00pm
article readings
 Do #7 Participation Response
-watch my video monologue on your
(responding to two others questions in
personal skills inventory.
the Participation Response Discussion
Forum) by Saturday, March 29,
5:00pm
-watch my video monologue on
resumes, interviewing, your job search,
a personal skills inventory, and how
to market yourself ethically.
-investigate links in moodle for your
personal skills inventory and resume
preparation
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Get ready for your Resume! Develop a personal
skills inventory for next class.
 Do #8 Participation Response
(responding to two others questions in
the Participation Response Discussion
Forum) by Saturday, March 5,
5:00pm.
 Personal Skills Inventory is DUE
Saturday, April 5, 5pm.
 Resume Draft is Due Monday, April 7,
5:00pm
Week 10
4/7-4/11
Week 11
4/14-4/18
Week 12
4/21-4/25
Week 13
4/28-5/2
Week13
5/5-5/9
Chapter 6: Contemporary Challenges
to Ethics
-read chapter 6
-watch my video monologue on
chapter 6
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Personal Code of Ethics Revisited
Work on your personal code of ethics
part 2
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Do #9 Participation Response
(responding to two others questions in
the Participation Response Discussion
Forum) by Saturday, April 12, 5:00pm
Paper on biopolitical ethics is due
Sunday, April 13, 5:00pm
Work on PCoE part 2 – it is due
Wednesday, April 16, 5:00pm.
Do #10 Participation Response
(commenting on this portion of the
PCoE and responding to two others in
the Participation Response Discussion
Forum) by Saturday, April 19, 5:00pm
-Work on your Personal Code of
Ethics part 3
-watch my video monologue on part
three of the PCoE
-ECA Convention (but will be
available via email)
Work on your Resume and Cover letter
final document.
Work on your final document of your
PCoE.
No discussion this week-work on your stuff!
-watch my video monologue on using
your Personal Code of Ethics and the
point of a practice exam.
Practice exam is due Friday, May 9, 5:00pm.
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Final version of resume is due
Wednesday, April 30, 11:00pm
Final draft of personal code of ethics is
due (includes original AND revised
part 1, original and revised part 2,
AND part 3 ALSO – upload a clean
version of your PCoE that is comprised
of revised part 1, revised part 2, and
part 3)due Sunday, May 4, 5:00pm.
Final Exam is due by Friday, May 16, 2014 5:00pm
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!! You have completed your Senior Seminar!!!!!!!!!
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